Bikers' Violent Attack On SUV Driver In New York City Was Inevitable, Local Residents Say

HARLEM — The beating of an SUV driver in front of his family by a
group of motorcycle riders after a high-speed highway chase
Sunday has residents of Upper Manhattan and The Bronx saying "I
told you so."

Residents from Harlem, The Bronx and Washington Heights and
Inwood have long called the packs of motorcycles and illegal dirt
bikes a nuisance with the potential to turn violent.

"This is something that we feared and now that it has happened,
the city has to step up and go after these bikers," said Rafael
Salamanca, Jr., district manager of Community Board 2 in the
Bronx.

"They are putting too many people's lives at risk for their
entertainment and they don't care."

Kimberly Watkins, a Harlem resident and fitness instructor, said
she has been trying for years to be heard on the issue, to no
avail.

"So many people have tried to prevent this," she said.

"Instead, we've just been given the runaround and told to go to
community board meetings."

In Harlem, pedestrians have been hurt by the vehicles. In the
Bronx last year, Eddie Fernandez was killed when the dirt
bike he was riding was rear-ended by police during a chase.

"When I walk with my son in his stroller, and I hear them coming,
I completely stop because I don't know if a biker is going to
ride on the sidewalk, or simply lose control while pulling a
stunt," said Harlem parent and author Stacy Parker Le Melle.

Police have said they don't chase dirt bike and motorcycle riders
because it encourages reckless riding that endangers the public.
Instead, they have taken to raiding the locations where the bikes
are kept. Some riders say police have even begun using netting to
ensnare riders.

Dirt bikes and ATV's are illegal on city streets because they
lack required safety parts such as lights and turn signals.
Drivers of the vehicles are subject to arrest. Illegally modified
and unregistered motorcycles are also of concern.

Law enforcement officials monitoring social media heard about
Sunday's ride, which was organized by HollywoodStuntz over social
media such as Instagram and Twitter, and disrupted it by having
checkpoints at the city's bridges and at staging areas.

That didn't prevent the incident where police say Alexian Lien,
33, who was riding with his wife and their 2-year-old daughter in
a black Range Rover, rear-ended one of about two dozen
motorcycles on the Henry Hudson Parkway at about 2 p.m. near
125th Street.

The motorcyclists became enraged and swarmed the car. Lien
stopped before speeding off and rolling over three motorcycles in
the process.

The motorcycle riders gave chase. After Lien exited the highway
at 178th Street near St. Nicholas Avenue, motorcyclists began
bashing the SUV's windows. Lien was pulled from the vehicle and
slashed in the face and beaten while his family watched.

One biker, Edwin Mieses, has been hospitalized with two broken
legs and family members fear he may be paralyzed.

Two of the bikers involved in the incident have been arrested.
Allen Edwards, 42, of Jamaica, Queens was arrested Tuesday for
reckless endangerment and criminal mischief but the Manhattan
District Attorney's Office says he will not be immediately
prosecuted while the investigation continues.

Christopher Cruz, whose motorcycle was rear-ended by the SUV when
Cruz tried to slow traffic, is facing charges of unlawful
imprisonment in the second degree and reckless driving. He is
free on $1,500 bail.

A Harlem motorcycle rider who asked that his street name of "Al
Capone" be used, said he appealed to police brass in Harlem the
week before Sunday's ride for a police escort for the riders to
prevent the type of incident that occurred.

"If it had been a permitted ride it would have been organized, it
would have been a procession, it would have been different," he
said.

Capone and Benjamin "Benmore" Charles, also a co-founder
of Bikelife, said the incident makes the need for some sort of
bike park even more clear.

On Wednesday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. called for a
new city law that would heavily fine gas stations that allow
illegal dirt bikes and ATVs to fill up their tanks "to shut off
the fuel that drives the recklessness that has taken control of
our streets,” Diaz said in a statement.

Salamanca said a bike park could be a long-term solution but
steps need to be taken now to protect public safety.

"The people of New York City and my district are looking for an
immediate answer to this issue," he said. "What happened this
weekend was totally unacceptable."